Poll no. 67_January 2009
Press Release
A public opinion poll conducted by Jerusalem Media & Communications Center
Rise in popularity of Hamas’ leaders and government with decline in popularity of Fatah
The Palestinian public prefers resistance over negotiations

Fatah and Hamas
The results of the public opinion poll conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communications
Center (JMCC) during the period 29-31 January, 2009 show that the majority of respondents
(46.7%) believes that Hamas came out of the war victorious compared with only 9.8% who said
that Israel won the war. Over one-third, 37.4%, said that neither side achieved victory in this
war.
A striking finding in this field poll is the di...

Poll no. 67_January 2009
Press Release
A public opinion poll conducted by Jerusalem Media & Communications Center
Rise in popularity of Hamas’ leaders and government with decline in popularity of Fatah
The Palestinian public prefers resistance over negotiations

Fatah and Hamas
The results of the public opinion poll conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communications
Center (JMCC) during the period 29-31 January, 2009 show that the majority of respondents
(46.7%) believes that Hamas came out of the war victorious compared with only 9.8% who said
that Israel won the war. Over one-third, 37.4%, said that neither side achieved victory in this
war.
A striking finding in this field poll is the disparity between opinions in the West Bank and
opinions in the Gaza Strip on most of the issues tackled in the poll. For example, 53.3% of
respondents in the West Bank believe that Hamas won in the recent war, while 35.2% of
respondents in Gaza Strip felt the same.
The poll, with a random sample of 1,198 respondents, found a rise in the popularity of the
Hamas movement – especially in the West Bank – and the popularity of its leaders and
government in Gaza Strip alongside a decline in the popularity of the Fatah movement and its
leaders and government in the West Bank.

When asked if PLC elections were held today, the percentage of those who would vote for
Hamas rose to 28.6% in this poll compared with 19.3% last April. On the other hand, the
popularity of Fatah Movement declined from 34% last April to 27.9% in this poll.
This change was also reflected in the level of public trust in the two movements. Trust in Hamas
rose from 16.6% last November to 27.7% in this poll. With regards to Fatah, popular trust in the
movement declined from 31.3% to 26% in the same period. It is clear from the poll that the rise
in Hamas’ popularity is due to an increase in its popularity in the West Bank – it rose from
12.8% last November to 26.5% in this poll.

[url=http://www.jmcc.org/publicpoll/resu

The percentage of respondents who believe that the performance of the government of Fayyad is better than the performance of Hanieh’s government declined from 36% last April to 26.9% in this poll, while those who believe that the performance of Fayyad’s government is worse than Hanieh’s government rose from 29.1% to 40.7%.

The military operations and negotiations This JMCC poll found that Israel’s war on Gaza contributed to an increase in support for military action against Israel. The percentage of respondents who believe that locally-made rockets help achieve the Palestinian national goals rose from 39.3% last April to 50.8% in this poll, with a decrease in the percentage of respondents w...

The percentage of respondents who believe that the performance of the government of Fayyad is better than the performance of Hanieh’s government declined from 36% last April to 26.9% in this poll, while those who believe that the performance of Fayyad’s government is worse than Hanieh’s government rose from 29.1% to 40.7%.

The military operations and negotiations This JMCC poll found that Israel’s war on Gaza contributed to an increase in support for military action against Israel. The percentage of respondents who believe that locally-made rockets help achieve the Palestinian national goals rose from 39.3% last April to 50.8% in this poll, with a decrease in the percentage of respondents who believe that the rockets harm national interests from 35.7% last April to 20.8% in this poll.

In the same trend, the percentage of those who support military operations against Israel targets as an appropriate response under the current political conditions increased from 49.5% last April to 53.5% in this poll. Moreover, this poll found that the percentage of supporters of bombing operations against Israeli civilians increased from 50.7% to 55.4% for the same period. According to the JMCC poll results, the war led to an increase in the percentage of those who oppose peace negotiations. Nearly 41% (40.9%) of respondents polled opposed peace negotiations compared with 34.7% in a JMCC poll conducted last November.

JMCC